Kids Talk About God by Carey Kinsolving

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How Do I Know If I'm Doing What God Wants Me To Do?

"I don't know," says Malli, "I just got to trust in myself." If you're doing the right thing, Victoria, 8, says, "You'll like it." Lots of people today would agree. They say, "If it feels good, do it."

Wait a minute! What if a bank robber has fun stealing money? Does that make it right?

Here's the ultimate test for Jeremy, 9: "If nothing bad happens to you, then you know it's OK to do."

Hey, Jeremy! Some murderers and robbers never get caught. Does that mean their crimes are OK?

Try this test, says Lacey, 12: "If you don't want to tell your parents, it's not what God wants you to do." Does this include the time my friend Deb wrote her brother's name in the dust on her dad's new car?

"You'll sometimes get sick at your gut when you know you did something wrong," says Conner, 12. Deb's gut was sick when she heard her dad yell at her brother for messing up the car, but not sick enough to tell Dad the truth right away.

But isn't that a feeling? How does the Holy Spirit convict us? "He tells us in our sleep," says Morgan, 7. Ummm, do I have to wait until bedtime and hope I don't hear a voice saying "noooo" in my dreams?

The Holy Spirit is more than a mystical feeling or emotional experience. He is a person. The earthly life of Jesus Christ is described as being led by or filled with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:1). In this, Jesus set the example for all who believe in him.

"If you have Jesus in your heart," says Shelby, 10, "the Holy

Spirit will tell you what God's will is."

This kind of assurance comes from spending time alone with God as Grace, 8, does: "I can hear him in my mind when nobody is around me." In the midst of Jesus' ministry, he often sought solitude to pray.

Spending time alone with God is good, but don't overlook the obvious, says Brad, 6: "I read the Bible."

Sometimes we make divine guidance too complex.

Remember high-school algebra? The only hope I had for discovering the unknown "X" factor was to focus on the known quantities.

The Bible is the known or revealed Word of God. By focusing on what God has revealed, the unknown often becomes known. If you're tempted to steal a candy bar from a store, don't ask God about that. He's already told us: "You shall not steal" (Exodus 20:15).

"The Bible is God's special instruction book for you to read and check your progress," says Heather, 12. The Apostle James wrote that we need to be doers of the Word as well as hearers.

Why should God disclose his will about a career choice, personal relationships or other matters if we aren't acting on what he has already revealed in the Bible? If we are doers of his revealed will, then the experience of Thomas, 12, will certainly be ours: "You can hear him in your heart saying, 'Good job!'"

Hey, Thomas! That's the feeling Deb got when she told her dad she messed up his car.

Think about this: God wants to reveal his will to you.

Memorize this truth: "Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11).

Ask this question: Are you a doer of God's Word?

Listen to a talking book, download the "Kids Color Me Bible" for free, watch Kid TV Interviews and travel around the world by viewing the "Mission Explorers Streaming Video" at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Bible quotations are from the New King James Version. To find out more about Carey Kinsolving and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.